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Technology Stocks : 3Com Corporation (COMS) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: The Phoenix who wrote (35584)	10/17/1999 1:33:00 PM
From: Mehrdad Arya	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 45548

Gary, <<Whatever last crumbs of credibility you had with me you have just lost. You're post yesterday evening said $50 for a buy-out. You open this last post with $75/share for a buy-out but close with $65+. So what is it?>> Do remember when I bought COMS my estimations were circumscribed by the parameters of that time. You know very well that the dynamics in this market are evolving and for this reason my estimations are constantly changing. With Nokia jumping ship from Symbian and finalizing a contract with 3Com, Qualcomm jumping ship from its partnership with MSFT in Wireless Knowledge and licensing 3Com's PalmOS, with IBM cross-licensing their patents and technology with 3Com, with Phillips Electronics jumping from CE to PalmOS after their pathetic results associated with their CE based PDA's, with Sprint's wireless CDMA Gateway contract with 3Com, with the recent alliance in wireless applications with IBM,Orcl,Lotus,MOT,Ericy,Nok and Masuchita, with the stellar earnings results beating estimations by 38%, with the Palm Spin-Off, with the nationwide introduction of the Palm VII, with their recent position in G3 technology,with gross margins that handsomely beat DELL's. I could go on interminably with many more things that have taken place since I have become an investor, but it would be to no avail because you despise 3Com and you would never give it a chance no matter what I can corroborate with universally accepted facts. That is why the results of my calculus have changed from $50 to $75. Actually to be exact from $45 to $120. <<In investing there is one rule - make money. COMS is undervalued, you would do well to stick with this position since it is a position I agree with. Trading a 2 times revenues and low PE's given earnings (even soley from operations) are good reasons to invest in COMS. PALM will generate good value for shareholders - even after the stock tumbles as shares become available. But when you argue that COMS has technology and abilities when they clearly do not, or at least have not demonstrated any, will almost always get an argument from me - an argument based on the the facts that I have at my disposal, no arm waving. >> How can you be so ignorant or naive to believe that COMS has no technology or abilities, especially when you know IBM, which has registered more patents than any other company in the last 8 year, has cross-licensed its patents with 3Com's. Are you insinuating that the Management at IBM are ignorant? With matters concerning the company's value, I think you will be well advised to know I have incessantly propounded that the company is grossly undervalued. I don't think you need to educate anyone on this thread about value, because most of us are in 3Com based on value, but we are not myopic in the ever evolving technology sector to not see the potential and direction 3Com is going. I for one think 3Com is well positioned to take a leading position in the emerging markets of Broadband and Wireless. The proof is manifested everywhere and if you have difficulty seeing this I don't have the time or energy to assist you.

To: The Phoenix who wrote (35584)	10/17/1999 1:56:00 PM
From: KyrosL	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 45548

Gary, there are a number of ways to figure out how a tech company is doing. IMHO, the most important way, is to look at the financial results of the company as well as its research and development spending. The financial results numbers can't lie (unless the company is involved in fraud). These numbers are where both Mehrdad and I are concentrating on, whereas you keep posting market share numbers in various networking products. I believe that the market share numbers you site are accurate. However, I know that market share numbers are somewhat of a rear-view mirror. They are usually some months old, and may not reflect what will happen in the future. Moreover, there are many channels for selling networking products, and these market share numbers usually reflect only one of these channels. For example, there is considerable direct selling over the Web -- and 3Com says that it is making good progress in Web selling, and has ambitions to become the Dell of networking products, -- there is retail selling, there are OEMs, etc. I am sure that the market share numbers you site do not include many of these channels. Finally, if we used present market share numbers, a number of the hot new networking companies that are valued in the billions should be worth nothing. One of the key numbers that I look to figure out the future of a company is its research and development budget. For 3Com, this budget has been steadily rising, even though large areas, such as modems and NICs, are being substantially downsized. This tells me that the company's contention that it is rapidly shifting resources into new growing areas is true. So, you are pointing to past market share numbers. Mehrdad and I are pointing to R&D numbers, clear signs of downsizing in some areas, and considerable anecdotal evidence of robust activity in new growing areas. The R&D activity and anecdotal evidence is enough for Mehrdad and I to conclude that 3Com's networking business is about to turn around. You may want to wait a couple of quarters until the market share numbers start showing this, although it may be too late by then.

To: The Phoenix who wrote (35584)	10/18/1999 4:32:00 AM
From: Tim McGee	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 45548

Gary, At the same time you blindly - with little comment from the thread (which amazes me) - present and postulate the future of COMS (read opinions) with no regard for their past or current abilities. I guess your opinions are simply less controversial than mine... You must realize that many people tune out the noise on this thread rather than get caught in a no-win situation (I suggest you and CJ do the same). You are providing an extremely high value to this thread by presenting the critical viewpoint wrt COMS value as a pure networking player - in the face of blind euphoria. The numbers would be pretty dismal if it weren't for PALM. Wrt Palm, The Nokia deal is seismic. Its a 10 on the Richter Scale. It changes everything and MSFT knows it. The PALM IPO will be huge. COMS price can't help but be dragged along for this ride a bit. PALM has won, it just has to execute now. It would be great if we could participate fully in the IPO from day 1 with our COMS shares. I for one own COMS almost exclusively for PALM, now. If they actually do anything interesting in networking in the next 9 months, its a bonus. Tim